Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Review

When more of the same is enough.

Death is a great teacher. Failure in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is, as it always has been for this series, the greatest way to learn where you should have gone, what you shouldn't have done, and how you could have done better. Counter-Strike players spend a lot of time learning -- consequently, they are always getting better.

Growth is an important factor in Global Offensive, especially if you're coming into Counter-Strike fresh or after a sabbatical. This is an extremely hardcore, skill-based first-person shooter, and it forces you to think differently than other modern shooters. If you’re a Call of Duty player, you’re going to need to change your play style to succeed here. Counter-Strike also tries developing into something new here as well, despite doing little to push itself beyond what it’s always done best. Global Offensive modifies old maps to keep veterans on their toes, and introduces official new modes that encourage different play styles for the first time in almost 15 years.

For the uninitiated, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a small-scale, team-based first-person shooter with permanent death. When a counter-terrorist kills a terrorist planting explosives in a classic Defusal match, or a CT escort swallows a sniper round in Hostage Rescue, the victim is dead for good and doesn't respawn until the next round. As such, players on both sides must exercise skill and care. The bomb objective, meanwhile, gives everyone a purpose. Of course matches end when everyone on a team is dead, but a clever and coordinated terrorist team will give the CTs the slip, plant their bomb, and protect the bomb site. Between rounds, everyone spends earned cash on better gear and guns, and the cycle continues.

Pieces of the Counter-Strike formula are dated at this point, but the superb heart and soul of Global Offensive is timeless. Teams are small, guns are lethal, and rounds are short. There's an addictive just-one-more-round quality to it, because there's a constant desire to do better than last time, to earn a satisfying kill, or to win in a new way. Call of Duty and Battlefield vets will wonder why they can't sprint to escape enemy fire or look down the iron sights to improve aim; Counter-Strike players will feel like they walked into their redecorated home. Certain map redesigns will catch hardcore fans off guard, but the changes are for the best -- the underpass choke point in de_dust, for instance, has a new escape route.

Even in the face of genre evolution, Global Offensive doesn’t care to adapt. CSGO is so dedicated to Counter-Strike's aging ideals despite market and trend changes that it brute-forces its way to success. Part of what makes it such an engaging competitive game is that killing in Global Offensive requires a wholly different skill set than other shooters. Everyone is limited to what they have and can see, with little room for character modification or on-the-fly advantages. Running and gunning is a useless play style, even if you've bought a helmet and kevlar that round, to the point that someone standing still is more likely to score the kill. Walking, crouching, or standing are your best bets to reduce the inaccurate spray of machine-gun fire.

Consequently, killing in Global Offensive feels good. There's a sickening sensation to dropping someone dead because you know they're not coming back. It's also satisfying knowing you used limited resources to play smarter than your victim. If players aren't watching corners, providing covering fire, or using smoke grenades and flashbangs, they're more likely to take a headshot from a more delicate and patient triggerman. The desire to experience that distinct feeling is a strong motivator to keep playing, even when you're getting steamrolled by an obviously better team.

If you've played Counter-Strike before, Global Offensive probably sounds a whole lot like Counter-Strike. Like Counter-Strike: Source before it, Global Offensive exists simply to modernize the look of the classic competitive shooter, while doing little to disrupt the core form and function. At the same time, it does enough to color outside the lines of tradition to justify your time and effort.

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There's a sickening sensation to dropping someone dead because you know they're not coming back.

Fire is one of the most interesting new combat variables. Molotov cocktails and incendiary grenades either roast groups of guys or force them in another direction. Flames are a useful distraction or scare tactic, too. They're particularly useful during Demolition matches, which focus the fight at a single bomb site rather than giving terrorists two to pick between. The new and modified maps in this mode aren't as big as classic Counter-Strike arenas – entire sections have been cut off to direct teams toward a central location – but their thoughtful design is as intricate as ever. The Lake map is a standout -- there's a wide open yet densely populated yard around the bomb site, which is inside a sizable lakeside home with plenty of vantage points and hiding spots. To separate Demolition from Defusal, players can't buy between rounds. Instead, it takes a cue from the other new mode, Arms Race, in which each kill unlocks another weapon instantly. The better you do, the more you have to switch up the way you play, and because Demolition is so fast you'll need to be quick on your feet.

Arms Race can get out of control, but patience pays off.

Unlike other game types, Arms Race allows for respawns. It's the most chaotic and care-free mode in Global Offensive, with players throwing caution to the wind for the sake of climbing the kill ladder as quickly as possible. It's a shame there are only two maps in Arms Race -- a problem that will more likely persist on consoles than PC.

If you have the option, playing the PC version is unquestionably the best way to experience Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Mods, mouse and keyboard, and the usual PC-only options are better than the ports. Plus, Valve is much better about long-term PC support -- it abandoned Team Fortress 2 on consoles, and Portal 2's level editor was PC exclusive. If you prefer to play on consoles, Global Offensive is the same great game, with the following special bits:

PlayStation 3

For those who want to play on PlayStation 3 but don’t want to deal with the imprecision of analog sticks, Counter-Strike: GO supports mouse and keyboard, giving it a pretty noticeable edge over the Xbox 360 version. If you’re feeling saucy, Move is another option, although nuance dies with the motion controller. Move is accurate, and your quick reflexes will score kills, but the unavoidable instability of holding a remote will give your cursor some seriously unpleasant wobble. Worse, moving the wand quickly can confuse the controller, which often and irritatingly misinterprets basic left/right looks as a want to turn around 180 degrees.

Xbox 360

Aside from the lack of keyboard/mouse input, the Xbox 360 version of Global Offensive is functionally identical to that on PS3 -- the new radial user-interface on both platforms is as elegant as it is on PC. Because it’s a hardcore competitive game, Counter-Strike blocks party chat in an effort to combat cheating, forcing players with headsets to play with friends or brave the Wild West of obscenity that is Xbox Live.

The Verdict

Global Offensive is definitely a Counter-Strike sequel -- it looks and feels familiar, with minor tweaks here and there to help balance old issues and surprise longtime players. This is a demanding, skill-based multiplayer game that's as satisfying now as it ever was, but it's for a specific kind of player. If you're not willing to learn to play different than you're used to, look elsewhere. Otherwise, this is a top-tier tactics game that will probably share the long-tailed legacy of its predecessors.